The Opta supercomputer has delivered its match predictions ahead of the latest weekend of the 2026-27 Premier League season, with the table beginning to take shape.

While Manchester City still lead the way after eight games, a 2-1 defeat to an improving Aston Villa side last weekend ended their perfect start.

They have a tough test this week, too, as they welcome Brighton back to the Etihad Stadium, only three days after beating them in the EFL Cup.

Arsenal were stunned by League Two Fleetwood Town on penalties in that competition, and the Gunners now face a difficult trip to Anfield in another standout fixture on Sunday.

Another meeting between two of the league's traditional powers sees Manchester United visit Chelsea, with Michael Carrick's job looking increasingly insecure amid an eight-game winless streak.

MD9 sees fixtures take place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday across a bumper weekend.

Ahead of what should be another intriguing group of Premier League fixtures, let's check out the Opta supercomputer's match predictions.

How things stand after Matchweek 8  https://t.co/FKwj7irbNp

— Premier League (@premierleague) October 25, 2026

CHELSEA V MANCHESTER UNITED

The first game of the weekend takes place at Stamford Bridge, and it could be a decisive one for Michael Carrick.

Ahead of their trip to Chelsea, Manchester United are winless in eight games across all competitions (D3 L5), their worst run of form since October and November 1988 (nine).

Unlike his players, who were roundly booed by the Old Trafford faithful after a dire 3-0 loss at home to Bournemouth last week, Carrick retains the support of sections of United's fanbase, but another defeat could make his position untenable.

Having also lost 4-1 to Como in the UEFA Champions League prior to the Bournemouth game, United have lost back-to-back matches by a three-goal margin. They last suffered three straight defeats by 3+ goals in November and December 1961.

And the supercomputer makes them outsiders, with a 23.7% win probability and a 24.5% chance of earning a point. Chelsea won 51.8% of the model's pre-match simulations.

Working towards Chelsea (A)  https://t.co/WsqDgVVhXY

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) October 29, 2026

Chelsea boss Xabi Alonso lost five of his seven Premier League games against United as a player with Liverpool (W1 D1), his joint-most defeats against an opponent, along with Chelsea. His last game against them as a player – with Real Madrid in March 2013 – saw Carrick line up as part of the Red Devils' midfield.

The Blues are hoping to get back in the win column after going down 2-0 to rivals Tottenham last Saturday, having also exited the EFL Cup on penalties against Liverpool on Wednesday.

BOURNEMOUTH V LEEDS UNITED

After running Man Utd ragged last weekend, Bournemouth (50.6%) should be in high spirits ahead of welcoming Leeds United (24.4%) to the Vitality Stadium.

Following an eight-match winless run, Bournemouth have won back-to-back Premier League games to nil – they have never won three in a row in the competition without conceding.

Leeds, meanwhile, have failed to win any of their last four, albeit three of those games finished level.

In fact, Bournemouth (13) and Leeds (14) are two of the top three teams for most Premier League draws so far in 2026 (Brentford also 14), so the 25% chance of the points being shared should not be overlooked.

But late drama could also be on the cards, as three of the four previous Premier League meetings between these clubs have featured a 90th-minute goal – both meetings in 2025-26 saw the visiting team equalise late on in 2-2 draws. 

BRENTFORD V NOTTINGHAM FOREST

Brentford (50.3%) and Nottingham Forest (24.5%) are both looking to get back to winning ways in the Premier League after difficult runs.

The Bees have lost just once this season (W2 D5) but are winless in their last three outings. They are strong at the Gtech Community Stadium, though, losing one of their last nine top-flight home games (W3 D5), though that came last time out against Liverpool.

Forest, meanwhile, snapped their three-game losing streak with a draw against Ipswich Town, but things aren't expected to get better on Saturday. They have lost their last five league matches played on Halloween, a run stretching back to the first Premier League season in 1992-93, when they lost 1-0 to Ipswich.

However, Forest do have a good recent record against Brentford, winning three of their last four against them (L1). They have won their last two against Keith Andrews' side but have only once before registered three straight wins in this fixture (in the Championship between February 2019 and January 2020).

COVENTRY CITY V SUNDERLAND

The bottom two are looking to ease some of the early pressure on them as Coventry City host Sunderland.

Coventry, who have lost their last two league games, hold a 43.2% win probability and are unbeaten in 10 league meetings with Sunderland (W5 D5), alternating between a draw and a win in each of those.

Activation.  https://t.co/8KXdTTzM7h

— Coventry City (@CoventryCityFC) October 29, 2026

Sunderland, whose win likelihood sits at 30.1%, are winless in six league games (D2 L4), failing to score in each of the last three after a 0-0 draw with Leeds United last time out – there's a 26.7% chance of another stalemate here.

And goals could be hard to come by. The teams are joint bottom of the scoring charts in this season's Premier League with six goals apiece. Coventry have also netted the joint-fewest in the first half of games (one), while Sunderland have netted the joint-fewest after half-time (three).

HULL CITY V IPSWICH TOWN

After two wins to start their season, Hull City have since failed to find three points in the Premier League (D4 L2), though they'll be looking to change that against fellow promoted side Ipswich Town.

This will be the first-ever top-flight meeting between the clubs, and although Hull are favourites with the supercomputer (45%), they are winless in five league games against Ipswich (D1 L4).

Gary O'Neil's side have a 28.1% chance of victory and know a win would take them above Hull in the table. They've won on two of their last three league visits to Hull (D1).

Ipswich's struggles in defence could come to haunt them, having conceded in each of their last 27 Premier League games, while Hull are on the joint-longest winless streak in the competition (six, with Man Utd and Sunderland), meaning the 26.9% chance of a draw could come to pass – it is the most likely stalemate of the weekend.

MANCHESTER CITY V BRIGHTON

After their EFL Cup fourth-round tie went to spot-kicks, City and Brighton are set for a swift reunion at the Etihad, where Enzo Maresca's hosts are assigned a 56.3% win probability, compared to the Seagulls' 21.1%.

City (16.7) and Brighton (16.2) are the top two teams for expected goals (xG) in the Premier League this season, as well as being the highest-scoring sides (Brighton 23 goals, City 20), so fireworks are anticipated.

But Erling Haaland will be keen to improve his personal record against Brighton, even if he has found the net against them regularly.

 @Erling enjoyed that one  https://t.co/4KFqCJBFBe

— Manchester City (@ManCity) October 28, 2026

Haaland has seven goals in seven Premier League appearances versus Brighton, scoring in each of his last four without winning any of those games (D2 L2).

He is one of three players to do so in Premier League history, along with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink against Man Utd (Nov 1998 – Feb 2001) and Charlie Austin against Arsenal (Dec 2014 – April 2018), neither of whom netted without winning in a fifth straight game.

TOTTENHAM V CRYSTAL PALACE

There are two late kick-offs on Saturday, the first of which is a London derby between Roberto De Zerbi's resurgent Tottenham and Pierre Sage's struggling Crystal Palace.

Spurs have won their last two Premier League games, only one victory fewer than they managed in their previous 26 (W3 D10 L13). They last won three in a row in February 2025.

Back home on Saturday  https://t.co/Ulwq8waHE3

— Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) October 29, 2026

Palace, meanwhile, are teetering above the relegation zone after successive defeats and only have a 22.3% win probability.  

Since beating Fulham 2-1 on December 7, 2025, a result that put them fourth in the Premier League, Palace have lost the most games (17) and conceded the most goals (58) of any team in the competition.

Spurs are handed a 54.2% chance of earning another win, which would bring up a curious achievement. After beating Coventry and Chelsea, they could become the first team to win three straight Premier League matches against teams all beginning with the same letter since 2018, when Burnley beat West Ham, West Brom and Watford.

ASTON VILLA V FULHAM

Saturday's final game sees Aston Villa – the strongest favourites of MD9 with a 57.9% chance of victory – take on Fulham, whose win likelihood is only estimated at 20.2%.

Unai Emery's men have made a habit of starting slowly before picking up in Autumn over the last couple of years.

They have only won two of their last 12 Premier League games across the months of August and September (D5 L5), compared to winning eight of their last 10 in October and November (D1 L1).

Fulham are chasing three straight Premier League wins for the first time since December 2025, and their underlying metrics under Álvaro Arbeloa have been positive.

Fulham's average possession share (58%), successful passes per game (505) and passing accuracy (86.7%) this term are all their best totals on record in a Premier League season (since 2003-04).

Their two wins came against promoted clubs, though, and Emery has won eight of his nine Premier League matches versus Fulham, averaging 2.67 points per game against them. Of managers to oversee 5+ games against the Cottagers, only Pep Guardiola (three, won 12/12) and Mauricio Pochettino (three, won 6/6) have a higher ratio.

LIVERPOOL V ARSENAL

Onto Sunday, and though there is only one fixture taking place, it is a huge one at Anfield as Liverpool take on Arsenal.

Between January 2016 and May 2025, all 19 Premier League games between Liverpool and Arsenal saw at least two goals scored (78 in total, 4.1 per game).

Last season, only one goal was scored across their two meetings, with Liverpool the only side to stop the Gunners from netting in 2025-26.

Arsenal are winless in their last 13 away Premier League games against Liverpool (D5 L8) since a 2-0 success in 2012-13.

Attention turns to the Premier League  https://t.co/XJ3HLSFu9R

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) October 28, 2026

They have never gone 14 without a win at Anfield in their league history, also enduring a 13-match streak between 1975-76 and 1987-88, which was broken by a famous 2-0 final day victory in 1988-89 to secure the title.

Nevertheless, Mikel Arteta's side assigned a 41.4% win probability to Liverpool's 33%, which actually makes them the only away team to be favoured by the supercomputer this weekend.

However, in Liverpool's last two Premier League games, they have beaten Brentford (started the day fourth) and Brighton (started in third), with Arsenal second going into MD9. The only team to win three straight games, all against sides in the top four, was Man Utd in August and September 2009 – they beat Arsenal (third), Spurs (second) and Man City (fourth).

NEWCASTLE UNITED V EVERTON

The action concludes with a Monday-night fixture between Newcastle United and Everton, who also met in the EFL Cup as recently as Thursday.

In the Premier League, the Toffees have won on their last two trips to St James' Park and could now achieve three straight victories there for the first time in their league history, with this set to be their 91st visit.

Everton have lost their last two Premier League games, though, last losing three straight with David Moyes at the helm way back in October 2011.

Matthias Jaissle's start at Newcastle has not been entirely smooth, either, as they faced the most shots (138) and gave up the fourth-most expected goals against (13.7 xGA) across the first eight matchdays of this Premier League season.

With 46.7% of simulations going their way, Newcastle are favourites, with Everton claiming all three points in 26.8% of scenarios and earning a draw in 26.5%.